First weekend of the term at the Hut. Photo by Elaine Oliver.
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Your
editorial team is delighted to report that recruitment at the start of
the new term has been amazing, with 64 student members already signed up
to the club; this is almost double the number we have had in recent
years! many thanks to everyone who was on the stall at the Welcome Fair
and all those who have organised socials, midweek caving trips and away
weekends. There were approximately 27 people at the first Mendip
weekend, followed by 30 people in South Wales shortly after.
We're delighted with all the trip write ups we've had for this
newsletter, with only minimal arm-twisted needed! Particular thanks to
Kat Osei-Mensah for all her help and to Klaudia Kalusa for her write up
of an OFD 1 trip, which wins the prize for the best report, as anyone
that managed to get the phrase 'rolling around like a piglet' into a
report definitely deserves an UBSS buff for their efforts! Thanks and
congratulations to Klaudia! Please claim your prize from Henry when you
see him next. He still has some buffs, we think. We're now looking for
someone who can use the phrase 'snuffling around like an aardvark' in a
plausible way in a write up. We will also distribute coveted UBSS
keyring torches and pens to all our other amazing authors!
If anyone else sent in reports that haven't appeared here, many
apologies, but it seems there was a problem with the email address given
in the competition mailshot. So if you did send in anything, please
could you resend to Zac and Linda.
If you mail both of us, that should make sure it gets through. Please
keep the reports coming along with any photos you've taken.
And talking of photos, we'd like to give a big shout-out to all the
people who have let us use their photos in this issue, as well as
screenshots from films in the case of those from excellent film-makers
Andy and Antonia Freem who, despite not being UBSS members, are
incredibly generous with their material. Please check out their YouTube Channel.
You'll find it's got loads of interesting stuff to help you plan where
you fancy visiting next! We hope we've got all the credits for everyone
right, but in the event of any errors, please let us know and we'll put
in a correction next time. Even if you haven't done a trip write up,
we're very happy to have photos sent in, and if there's any interest, we
could even be persuaded to run a photography competition. Photos
underground, overground and wombling free all welcome!
No prize was awarded in the 'guess the cave in the header photo'
competition from last time. The cave was Shatter Cave in Fairy Cave
Quarry and the caver was Helen Rossington.
Remember, your over-worked,
desperately insecure editors love hearing from our adoring public so
please get in touch! You do all adore us, don't you?
Back issues of the newsletter can be found here.
Zac and Linda
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MID-WEEK CAVING
Formations in Shatter Cave, Mendip. Photo by Linda Wilson.
Caving weekends are amazing, but they aren't the only way to get underground as Mid-week Caving Bloke, Si Hadfield explains.
We are very lucky to have some great caves nearby, and so we can also
run evening trips during the week. Trips are typically organised
informally in the pub, but I’ll also be posting details on the club
Facebook group.
If you don’t use Facebook then email me
and I’ll keep you posted. The limiting factor for these trips is
drivers/cars, so if you happen to have a car then let me know and I can
sort a trip out for any day of the week!
Typical Plan:
- Meet at the student’s union at 6pm.
- Jump in a car and drive to a cave on the Mendips.
- Cave for a couple of hours.
- (Optional) Go to an amazing (and cheap) pub for some food.
- Drive back to Bristol for around 11pm.
All you’ll need are some old clothes and wellies (we do have some
wellies for lending if needed). We’ll provide everything else for a
measly £3 kit hire fee, and you’ll need to pay a few quid towards the
fuel. Check out the handbook for more details (link below).
In short: Lots of caving will be happening! Chat to us in the pub or keep an eye on the Facebook group!
Yay Caving! :)
Simon (Mid-week Caving Bloke)
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UBSS FLEECES
By now you should have seen various people modelling the
excellent club fleeces. perfect for keeping you warm in caving huts or
after a trip. To enable us to order more, we need a minimum of 15 more
orders.
Fleeces cost £36 each. Postage will be extra if you are outside Bristol.
The colour is shown in the above graphic. The fleeces have the UBSS
shield instead of the university one.
The SU have fleeces available for trying the size, the merchandise shop is open Thursdays 10:00-16:00.
If you would like a fleece, let Henry and Merryn know asap.
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BOUNCING AROUND IN THRUPE LANE SWALLET
Thrupe Lane provides a good opportunity to practice SRT skills.
Kat says it's a good substitute for the Berger. Well, maybe she didn't
say quite that, but we're allowed some artistic licence!
On Sunday 17th October Jakob, Ash and I had a successful route finding
and rigging adventure down Thrupe Lane Swallet. As the only non-Berger
member of the party, I spent Saturday brushing up my SRT skills, first
up a tree under Jakob's (and several intrigued local toddlers') watchful
gaze, and then down Hunter's Hole.
Fully prepared for the kind of airy pitch that necessitated borrowing a
70m rope from stores, I was not expecting spending an hour 'high
contact' caving in crumbly dig sites before we found the top of the High
Atlas pitch. From there we descended down a free hanging pitch which
met a wet rockface halfway down. I celebrated by bouncing repeatedly
into the waterfall.
While Jakob and Ash were well oiled Prussick machines on the way back
up, I had so much fun on the way down I also spent most of my ascent
bouncing around in the waterfall. After another half hour of muddy
squeezing we were out in the sunshine. I highly recommend Thurpe Lane
for a bewildering mix of caving styles and some really fun SRT.
PS. Jakob's just told me that High Atlas is approximately 10m higher
than the biggest pitch in the Berger, and now I feel much more
accomplished waterfall bouncing aside.
Kat Osei-Mensah
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THANKS, SUPERTED!
Recent heavy rain resulted in a rescue call out for a group in Eastwater
Swallet. Kat Osei-Mensah recounts what happened and recaps the lessons
learned. Safety Officer Ash Gregg has held the necessary debriefs and
will be holding a further safety seminar to close off all actions
arising. many thanks to Mendip Cave Rescue and the emergency services
for their help!
On Wednesday 20th October, Jakob, Kat, Elliot, Omri and Lizzie were
rescued from Eastwater after heavy rain made return through the entrance
completely impassable. We'd turned our trip around having done the
ladder and were happily heading out when we heard roaring water in the
boulder choke beneath the entrance.
We were expecting a sporting exit but Jakob quickly realised there was
no way we could climb out through the entrance shaft which was
effectively a vertical sump. We retreated to a dry chamber and used a
bothy bag and lots of jogging, dancing and questionable singing to stay
warm.
We had left a callout for 12:30 and when we missed it Henry immediately
phoned the police (and was later praised by them and Mendip Cave Rescue
for his calm manner). We noticed the water level had dropped away around
2:30am, made contact with MCR around 2:45, and were all out of the
cave, unharmed, by 3:15.
Wayne from MCR kindly explained that there were six fire engines, that
had pumped water out of the streamway going into the cave (hence the
reduced water level), and several police present, which was a bit
overwhelming. We were taken back to the Wessex to change, and warm up
with tea in front of the fire.
We learned several important things worth sharing more widely:
- To always check the weather, even if heading into a 'dry' cave
- To consider various sources of information about a cave; Mendip Underground was not enough!
- The importance of being prepared; we were soaked to the skin and
very cold after our initial exit attempt and had Jakob not thought to
bring a bothy bag and several spare buffs things might have ended quite
differently
- Henry had to insist that the police call cave rescue rather than just
dispatch a police car; we all need to be confident to do that when
acting as call outs.
Kat Osei-Mensah
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SOUTH WALES WEEKEND
Henry Morgan (centre), a worthy finalist in Strictly Come (Furniture) Dancing. Photo by Klaudia Kaluza,
Nearly
30 UBSS members went to South Wales on the 23rd October for a weekend
of caving, drinking, making new friends and drinking. Our roving
reporter Kat Osei-Mensah recounts the bits that are printable ...
Merryn organised for us all to stay at the Westminster, a lovely hut
with several fantastic bits of furniture to traverse around. Friday
night saw the arrival of several cars full of eager cavers, as well as
seemingly the whole content of the tackle store.
On Saturday we divided into groups with everyone heading down OFD via
the SWCC cottages, bar one lucky group lead by Zac who got to visit some
plastic dinosaurs first.
See, we told you there were plastic dinosaurs! Hugo, Mahmood and two new friends. Photo by Zac Woodford.
After
a great day of caving we all reconvened at the Westminster on Saturday
night for a fantastic veggie chilli (and plenty of rice). Much merriment
ensued. The following morning several hungover groups of cavers dragged
themselves off to the various joys of Ogof Draenen (crawl through river
to big passages), Eglwys Faen (crawl crawl crawl), and Aggy (no
crawling without wellies). We then made our way back to the SU in
Bristol to wash gear and slink off home for an early night. A fantastic
weekend of excellent caving.
Kat Osei-Mensah
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PIGLET-ROLLING IN OFD
From left to right: Ash, Klaudia, Kiren, Kat, Jake and Lucy. Photo taken on Klaudia's phone by a random passerby.
At the UBSS South
Wales weekend, after a filling fry-up and a hectic race to pack
everything, a group of six decided to begin their journey to Ogof
Ffynnon Ddu. New member Klaudia Kaluza takes us on that journey with
them ...
The
cave began with a few ladders leading down to lovely spacious passages,
with large polished rocks and stunning little pools eroded into them.
We all walked up the passage, except for Kiren and Jake who were feeling
crazy enough to take on the tight squeeze of a “short cut” that Ash
pointed out.
We
reached 'The Step’ formation which we used to judge whether the water
level was low enough to safely walk through the stream. Fortunately, it
was safe to continue so we carried on with us all slyly but desperately
trying to avoid getting water in our wellies for as long as possible.
Eventually,
we all slowly gave up on the idea of staying dry and embraced the
drenched oversuit look when the stream progressively got deeper. We
stumbled upon a few pools of water that reached 2m in depth in some
areas and yet the only thing separating us from these mini ice baths was
a thin metal pole that we gripped onto with our wellies and ‘shimmied’
across.
OFD 1 streamway. Photo by Linda Wilson.
Despite being drenched up to our hips, the adrenaline rush kept us warm
as we continued across rock and marble, slipping and sliding as we
marched on with a few ladders along the way. We also had a few
well-deserved breaks where we all eagerly indulged into some tea and
biscuits – fancy I know.
We
got to the ‘roly poly’ part where instead of slithering across the
narrow entrance to the next passage, we all rolled our way across; and I
can safely say there was something so joyful and therapeutic about
rolling around like a piglet. Once we shook off our dizziness we carried
on until our next big attraction – the bolt traverse.
Ash and Kat fixed our cow tails and we began the traverse across the
Bolt Traverse ledge, with the stream below us on the left. We finished
the cave off by strolling through a shallow stream, before climbing back
up the ladders to leave.
It was without a doubt one of my favourite trips – 10/10
Klaudia Kaluza
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TO THE HARD ROCK CAFE IN DAREN CILAU
Formations in Bonsai Streamway. Photo by Si Hadfield.
For those who fancy stretching
themselves (quite literally, it seems) and don't mind crawling to get to
the good bits, it's worth considering a trip to Daren Cilau in South
Wales, described here by Sioned Haughton
It was a very soggy Saturday that Si Hadfield and I had originally
earmarked for a Southbank round trip in Eastwater, but considering the
weather we went looking for alternatives. After realising that most of
the trips on our to-do list are not really wet weather options, we
eventually settled on a trip to Hard Rock Cafe, the first Daren camp.
Having only ever done the through trip previously we scoured the
internet for useful route-finding information. This was not too
successful - there are many detailed accounts of the trials and
tribulations of the entrance crawl, but they all seemed to skip forward
to ‘and then we were at camp’. One report we found looked promising but
turned out to be just a list of the passages visited on the way, with no
detail on how you actually got from one the next. We had been told that
the key was ‘knowing how to get out of the loop’ and we did find
reports describing people circling around this loop several times before
eventually finding the way on, but that failed to provide any more
specific instructions for this.
Undeterred, we set off, only taking two wrong turns on the way there (in
an effort to save up all our route finding good luck for inside the
cave maybe..?)
When we arrived, the car park was full of South Wales cavers getting
ready for a rescue practice in Price’s Dig and they were all very glad
to hear we wouldn’t be attempting the through trip. This was also a
golden opportunity for us to get some invaluable route-finding tips,
including the revelation that once you’re in the loop you’ve already
gone wrong. Many thanks to Tarquin for this.
We were underground at 11.15am. The entrance crawl was considerably
wetter than when we were last there earlier in the summer but at least
the water was relatively warm. Once in Big Chamber Nowhere Near the
Entrance we poked around a bit before finding the way into the crawl
that takes you to Five Ways Chamber (up the slope to the right, then
take the left hand route). Once in Five Ways it is pretty
straightforward - the wrong ways are indicated by stone barriers and the
way on is very polished. You then pop into Valentine’s Chamber by a
massive collapse of weird blueish rock spoil, and from here another very
polished hole in the floor takes you down towards the ladder.
Ah, the ladder. How much of this report should I dedicate to the truly
dreadful time I had there? In case anyone doesn’t know, this is the
‘fixed but flexible’ (?) ladder that takes you up the 22m pitch into
Higher Things. It is in two sections linked by a diagonal overhang (??),
and was clearly made for someone taller than me, as I had to fully
extend to reach the rungs. And if this wasn’t enough the ladder was put
in upside down (???) which means each rung has a little slot on each
side that’s just big enough to painfully trap the side of your foot with
every step up.
I’m sure there must be a way round these problems that does not involve
putting myself on a rack or turning the whole ladder the right way
round, but I haven’t come up with it yet. Si did offer to lend me his
wellies so I could wear them over my own but it turns out that size 4s
won’t actually fit inside size 11s. Maybe next time I’ll have to go with
someone with bigger feet.
After the ladder, route finding wasn’t really an issue although there
are a couple of exciting roped climbs down into the Time Machine. This
is apparently the biggest passage in the UK, complete with house-sized
boulders and reflective way markers but coming straight from the Berger
it didn’t really seem that big. Clearly French caving has spoilt me.
Then we dropped into Bonsai Streamway where we actually managed to take a
photo for once! From here it was straight down to camp, passing Crystal
Inlet on the left. Even though I’d heard all about the cocktail-fuelled
parties, the camp itself was much more well kitted out than I expected.
We didn’t stay long though, to be honest it felt a bit strange being
around so much human stuff so far underground.
The way out was uneventful, the ladder much less painful on the descent,
and we were on the surface at 6.30pm. We timed ourselves coming out and
managed to exit the crawl in exactly 30 minutes, although I think I
paid for that enthusiasm the next day.
Sioned Haughton
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SCAFFOLDING, SQUEEZES AND BIG STUFF
Formations in Ogof Draenen. Image taken
with permission from the film Starting Over by Andy and Antonia Freem
about conservation work in the cave. You can watch this on their channel on YouTube.
The Wales weekend saw lots of
underground activity, rounded off for some with a trip down Ogof
Draenen. Thanks to Kat for this write up.
On Sunday 24th October Henry, Guy, Elliot and I finished off our Wales
weekend with a fantastic trip down Ogof Draenen. We were initially
feeling a bit worse for wear as we hopped around changing in the rain on
the side of the road in the middle of Welsh nowhere, and had Elliot not
been so keen we might have listened to our hangovers and lack of sleep
and turned tail for Bristol.
As it was Elliot's enthusiasm saw us off down a muddy field and into an
unremarkable hole in the side of the hillside. Given that we had a key
and the cave wasn't locked I was not convinced that Henry had found the
right cave, a suspicion that kept growing as we crawled through puddles,
past plastic buckets, down scaffolded shafts, and a bedding plane
seemingly held up by bricks.
 Ogof
Draenen. Image taken with permission from the film Starting Over by
Andy and Antonia Freem about conservation work in the cave. You can watch this on their channel on YouTube.
We pressed, wiggled, and squeezed on and
after a climb which definitely wasn't in our route description, we
suddenly found ourselves in the T-Junction chamber. It was incredible to
go from crawling through gravel to unable to see the ceiling in the
space of five metres. Having been there before, Henry took to our newly
spacious Welsh cave with gusto, leading us in several rousing (and
echoey) hymns as we pootled happily about for an hour.
We explored huge passages, climbed up and down various boulder piles,
and had a tranquil moment by a totally still blue lake-let before
turning around and making our way back out the now much more friendly
seeming squeezy waterway. To perfect the narrative arc, the rain had
cleared and blue sky was visible as we emerged, offering stunning views
over the hills. We skipped back to the car surrounded by friendly sheep
and all agreed we'd done the right thing to ignore our tired grumpy
internal voices and just get underground.
Kat Osei-Mensah
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GOING STRAIGHT ON ... AND ON ... AND ON ... IN AGGY
Agen Allwedd. Image take with permission from the film A Journey to Sand Cavern by Andy and Antonia Freem. You can watch this on their channel on YouTube.
Agen Allwedd is a cave that's long held a
fascination for UBSS members, but it's rather fallen out of fashion
with the club in recent years. Zac Woodford decided to refresh his memory of the cave recently, and wasn't disappointed.
On the Sunday of the Wales weekend, Megan,
Oliver, Hugo and I managed to escape the clean-up chaos at the hut to
actually go caving! Henry had insisted on organising the trips the night
before, so all faff the next morning was in sorting people and kit (and
finding Theo, who was supposed to be on our trip until they
rudely decided to un-exist). With the car loaded with kit and
hungover cavers we made our way to the Llangattock escarpment for a
visit to Agen Allwedd.
I’d only been to Aggy once before and that
was almost two years ago at CHECC so any recollections had to be treated
with double caution. I’d tried to re-familiarize myself by studying the
survey and briefly glancing over the route description. Finding
the cave was the easy part as it’s right next to the path (albeit after a
long but scenic walk) which I remembered from two years previously (but
it wasn’t nearly as scenic then).
We arrived at the cave with spirits high
and after stowing possessions just inside the entrance and signing into
the logbook, made our way deeper into the cave. The entrance series has a
very narrow winding character which requires squeezing and crawling at
points, particularly through the small stream that runs through the
entrance series. This was easy enough to follow until we reached the
boulder choke where the navigational issues began to arise.
I was trying to combine my previous
experience with the survey and route description to find the way on.
This meant periodically leaving the group in one place while I scouted
ahead. The first trouble was at the boulder chamber where Oliver had to
lift me through a small, polished gap just to get in. Once in the
chamber I realized that if the group back tracked, they could come over
the top of some boulders to get into the chamber. I then had to find the
right hole amongst the boulders. The one that looked most obvious took
us down into the streamway and we followed it to a junction where
everyone waited while I checked out both directions. One went to a dig
and the other followed the stream through very tight crawly passage. I
remembered neither route from years before and so back tracked and found
another way back into the boulder chamber. Following that down I then
found a very polished tube which dropped into a different stream.
Following this led to some narrow but
passable passage. This I did remember. Calling everyone over we
progressed through to the main chamber. The shear scale of the main
chamber is hard to articulate, I’ve seen smaller road tunnels. This I
certainly remembered from before. After stopping for a quick snack
break, we strode on into the darkness, on and on and on.
The tunnel (for want of a better word as to
scale) goes on and on. I’ve never seen passage quite like it anywhere
else. We found the selenite crystals and spent several minutes in awe of
them. The general consensus was that they looked like some eerie
underground city in miniature.
However, just past the crystals, another
large passage intersected on the right at the bottom of a large boulder
mound. I decided we should investigate this but after a few hundred
metres it closed down to a small sparkling chamber with the only way on a
very narrow rift passage. On reflection, and having consulted the
survey, I believe this is the way to the Southern Streamway, but I am
happy to be corrected.
At this point, we decided to turn back to
avoid all risk of missing our call out. We were on our way along the
main chamber when we began to hear voices… and music. We stood to the
side as a large group came the other way. They were from Plymouth and
there must’ve been about twelve of them in total. After a quick chat we
went on our way while they continued on to the music chamber. The rest
of the journey out was much smoother and within an hour we were outside
and on our way back to the car. Everyone involved really enjoyed the
trip with Oliver commenting he preferred my route through the boulder
choke over the more mundane well-trodden path. [Other Editor's Note:
Oliver hasn't yet been approached for his version of events!]
Zac Woodford
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SLIPPING AND SLIDING IN PRID
Jakob Annerdal in Pridhamsleigh. Photo by Kat Osie-Mensah.
Kat and Jakob recently had a
nostalgia trip to Devon, visiting both Baker's Pit and Pridhamsleigh
Cavern. They felt moved to record the latter in a short song. To the
tune of the Wild Rover, but louder, because Henry is singing...
With promise of glorious lake down below,
To Pridhamsleigh Cavern in Devon We’ll go,
We slipped and we slithered, got covered in clay,
Despite all the polish, couldn’t find the way
And it’s no nay never, No nay never no more
Will we play the hard caver, no never, no more
Kat and Jakob
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MONKTON FARLEIGH QUARRY
Monkton Farleigh Quarry. Photo by Gabriel Littler
The Bath stone quarries provide an
excellent opportunity to practice route-finding skills and there's
plenty to see down there, with many miles of passage, both large and
small and a fascinating array of old miners' graffiti, as mining
enthusiast Zac Woodford explains.
While most have stuck to the traditional mid week caving I’ve
been branching out by leading trips to mines, particularly the ones in
and around Bath. It was at one of these (Monkton Farleigh Quarry) that I
found myself with Stuart, Oliver and Gabriel on Wednesday 20th October. Apparently, these mines used to be a regular club haunt but have fallen out of favour in recent years.
We entered by the Muddy Hole entrance and immediately followed Long
Passage down to Clapham Junction. From there we pursued Back Passage to
the Well and the Ferret Hole (or the large mound of rubble that now sits
in front of it). From Back Passage we returned through Clapham Junction
(at this point I began navigating by survey) and continued on south
before joining another large passage and returning north, taking a look
at the wonderful miners' graffiti on the way.
Miners' graffiti in Monkton Farleigh. The
Peacocks of Bathford appear frequently in censuses with the profession
of quarryman noted. The bird might well represent a peacock.
By using the survey I found us a route due
west to Front Passage stopping by Calcite Chamber, a spectacular river
of flowstone and cave pearls, on the way. Taking Front Passage south we
visited the Stables then turned around and followed it all the way back
north to the ruined train cart.
After inspecting the cart we made our way out back east to Long Passage
then out of Muddy Hole. I always love a visit to the mines. Their large
walking passages never cease to have some feature of interest and there
is always more to explore among the ruins, if anyone would like a visit I
am more than happy to continue running mid-week mine trips.
Zac Woodford
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A VERCORS CLASSIC - LA GROTTE DE GOURNIER
Entrance lake. Photo by Merryn Matthews.
The UBSS summer expedition to the
Vercors plateau did some classic local caves as a warm up to the Berger
trip. We've got two accounts here of the Grotte de Gournier, in prose
from Merryn Matthews and a poetic extravaganza from Sioned Haughton,
starting with Merryn's account ...
La Grotte de Gournier was the most hyped up cave for me on this
trip (aside from the Berger), with promises of massive stomping stal
passage, and a huge entrance lake you get to cross IN A BOAT!
Although feeling exhausted after days of caving and canyoning, this
sounded like a trip you couldn't miss so I set off with Haydon and
Jakob, with a group of Elaine, Brian and Jon to follow later.
We were told it was polite not to wear oversuits through the
Choranche show cave reception area (the cave next door) and so decided
to get changed at the entrance instead, which is a stunning, huge lake.
Quickly we realised we'd made two mistakes, one was that we had
forgotten the boat pump and secondly, that this was a very popular
tourist spot. I can't imagine what they thought as they watched
Haydon, half-naked in a furious make-out session with a boat, which
although he impressively inflated, was nothing compared to the huge
multi-person boats that the 'guided adventure
experience' tourists were using.
Tourist boat (top), UBSS fleet (bottom), or was it the other way round? Photo by Brian Goodman.
We then put on an entertaining spectacle
for our audience, taking turns paddling across in the Condor 2000,
somewhat out of control and spinning in circles, as the tagline we'd
brought was too short and the boat's steering left a lot to be
desired.
A quick traverse leads to hugeeee stomping passage with white stal
like giant aliens, and beautiful gower pools. It also is the busiest
cave I'd ever been in, with multiple French tourist caver groups
having baguette picnics, filling up kettle water from the pools, and
peeing (I think, because it smelt).
At this point, I was still feeling very tired, but Jakob and I were
persuaded by Haydon to descend and enter the streamway. It starts at
below knee height water depth, then gets progressively
deeper, with traverses using Via Ferrata staples until you get to
the famed 'grand barrier' calcite wall. I was far too tired to get that
far and Jakob had worn out his arm, so we decided to turn back early,
bumping into Jon and Brian who came out with us. The way back took my
slow limbs a very long time, so I was glad of the promise of a nice swim
in the lake.
Elaine and Haydon meanwhile continued up the streamway to the grand
barrier, which became a long and cold trip due to the very faffy
tourists (ask them if you're into gossip about irritating French
people).
The trip would not be complete without some swimming antics in the
tempting entrance lake. I was pretty cold even in my 4mm wetsuit (hands
stinging red with the cold), and impressed with Jakob and Brian's skinny
dips.
Merryn and Jakob swimming in the entrance
lake, with Jon in the boat. Photo by Brian Goodman. (See later from our
illustrious Hon Prezz on the benefits of cold water swimming.)
This somehow rejuvenated my energy, and
after getting changed, Brian persuaded me to cycle from our campsite up
the gorge to the cave, to meet Elaine and Haydon.
This is an epic trip, and I recommend it to anyone who happens to be in France.
Notes: The traverse is not
pre- rigged, although it was when we were there. I think we phoned or
emailed in advance to ask for permission. They were happy with
Elaine's group walking through in cave gear from the car park.
We took a 30m rope and 30m tagline to cross the entrance lake but found it too short, a 40m of each would be better.
For the streamway we took 40m or so of 8mm. It is useful if people are
less confident on some of the stemples. The top of the cascade 12 is
also rigged for a pull-through on the way back down, which is better
than using the stemples.
I recommend a wetsuit if aiming to get far up the stream way because it
eventually becomes too tricky to traverse (although Sioned and Ash went
in just furrys on a later trip).
Merryn Matthews
And from Sioned ...
Fossil passage with formations. © Gilbert Bohec, used under Wikipedia Commons Licence (CC by SA)
We went to France to do the Berger
A pothole that makes everyone her slave
So having vanquished that particular scourger
Me, Ash and Dour thought we'd try a different cave
We crossed the lake and reached the traverse
Only to realise we'd forgotten the rope
But Ash is a master of rigging most diverse;
For Haydon's bouncy green string there was no hope
In fossil passage the formations fairly exude
And the streamway is surely to be admired
But eventually we were forced to conclude
That a westsuit is most definitely required!
We turned around nowhere near the end
Although I gather that's a place few people wend.
Sioned Haughton
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BOULDERS AND BIG STUFF!
Boulder choke at the end of the Grande Salle in Douyme 1. Jan Walker for scale. Photo by Linda Wilson.
Although not on the same scale as
the Vercors, the Dordogne region of France is also well supplied with
caves. On a pleasant, sunny day in October, naturally Linda and Jan
decided to go underground instead of lounging around in the sun and so
set out to photograph the largest chamber in the area ...
Les Grottes de Douyme provides a very pleasant afternoon's bimble around
with some nice streamway and a visit to a fairly ginormous chamber.
Douyme 1 is the cave I use in this area if friends over here and
visitors want to see what attraction caving holds.
Jan Walker in the streamway, Douyme 1. Photo by Linda Wilson.
The Grotte de Douyme 1 can be found by
following the stream to its source behind the ruins of an old mill.
Douyme 2 is opposite the mill, up a smaller branch of the stream.
La Grande Salle, Douyme 1. Photo by Linda Wilson.
Douyme 1 is approximately 320m long, with a
pleasant amble up a streamway to an ascending, muddy climb that leads
to one of the largest chambers in the Dordogne that ends (for all but
the suicidally inclined) in an absolutely massive boulder choke. A way
on at the left of the mega-choke is a very tight flat out crawl through
boulders with millions of tons of loose rock just waiting to collapse on
top of you. Attempt this at your peril if you want to see the wet,
muddy extensions on the other side.
Douyme 2 is approximately 500 metres of tall, sinuous passage
reminiscent of caving in Co Clare, again leading to a large choke which
is absolutely crying out to be dug regularly. If it was on Mendip, it
would no doubt already have turned into a very long cave.
Both caves are home to large numbers of greater horseshoe bats and if
you want to go to the end of Douyme 2, I'd advise taking a facemask so
you're not inhaling bat pee en route.
To find the caves, park in the obvious small quarry at the spot marked
on the map then walk to the very obvious sharp bend in the road and
follow the obvious track to the right. When it forks, take the right
hand branch downhill into the valley and walk up the stream to its
source.
Linda Wilson
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COUNTDOWN TO CAVING WITH ... MERRYN MATTHEWS
I am the Secretary of UBSS, currently in my third year studying
Environmental Geoscience (not really I actually just spend all my time
caving and climbing trees). The first time I tried caving was in sixth
form; I vowed I would never go again because it was kinda grim, and I
was sooo exhausted after I could barely walk. As I have a terrible
memory I forgot that I didn't like it, only remembering that I really
liked the cool rocks, and kept signing up for trips. I then joined
Sheffield University Speleological Society (SUSS) for a year before
coming to Bristol, and now love caving.
Ten words to summarise your caving career ...
Mud love: Noob meets cave, becomes worm, cave becomes life.
Nine cavers (living or dead) you would like to go for a drink with ...
- Mia
- Batman
- Emmott
- Dave Catell for rescuing me from Mistrel
- Botch
- Omri Porat
- Imogen cos I owe her a pint
- Megan
- pretty much any caver, cavers fun, always up for a pub drink
Eight things you never want/wanted to hear underground ...
- We're locked in
- There is snow falling in the cave
- It's flooding
- I'm peeing (someone sat next to you in a puddle)
- Sorry I farted (me)
- After completing Daren entrance crawl 'we don't know the way let's do another hour long crawl'
- *panicked screaming*
- Ash making me survey Coolagh bedding plane 'you need to crawl to
the end to make sure you really can't fit' and 'ooo look another oxbow'
Seven public figures you'd least like to go caving with ...
- Roary the racing car
- Thomas the tank engine
- Clifford the big red dog
- Noo-noo the Teletubbies hoover
- Other top lads that would be impractical to cave with
Six of the weirdest things you've done, seen or heard of in connection with caving ...
- Made a snowman with massive tits
- Had a topless/naked rave in my friend's primary school whilst the headteachers were there.
- Set fire to a hat on my head
- Fried custard
- Played curling in a frozen caving hut carpark, with people
sat in giant sauce pans as the curling ball, and many many sweepers.
- A bread fight with huge bin bags of bread from the bins.
Five of your favourite caves ...
- Giant's Cavern
- Swildon's Hole
- Titan-JH
- Marble Arch
- Otter Hole
Four pieces of gear you've fallen in love with ...
- Wet socks
- My wellies that fit
- Pantin
- Lights that aren't shit
Three of the best caving books you've read ...
- The Cave Starter Pack by Dominika Wroblewska
- The Gouffre Berger Book
- Mendip Underground
Two of your favourite caving regions ...
- The Peak District
- Yorkshire
One thing you'd tell yourself as a fresher ...
One day you will be able to reach the deviation
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COUNTDOWN TO CAVING WITH ... DICK WILLIS
I somehow graduated with a Zoology
Degree in 1974, despite devoting very little time to studies. I fell in
love with caving after being taken down Swildons by a motley crew of
UBSS members in my first year. Somehow, I blagged my way onto the New
Guinea '75 expedition as a biological assistant (joke) and subsequently
took part in multiple expeditions from Europe to Central Asia and from
China down through Thailand and Borneo to New Guinea (again).
Expeditions became the focus of my life to the detriment of most other
things; the combination of adventure, exploration, camaraderie, exposure
to new peoples and environments was addictive. I’ve never had a career,
my work was always a matter of providing enough time and cash to go on
the next trip. I never planned any of it, but I have been staggeringly
lucky with what I have done and the friends I have made in the process.
Ten words to summarise your caving career …
A prime example of good luck overcoming the imposter syndrome
Nine cavers (living or dead) you would like to go for a drink with ...
- Dave Checkley – one of the
brightest and most humane people I have been privileged to know, whose
mind, persona and life were stolen by dementia.
- Dave Yeandle and Chas Yonge – two members of the New Guinea 75 team who are no longer with us.
- Chris Smart, who started me caving, and his brother (Emeritus
Prof) Pete Smart who has been an inspiration, teacher and slave driver
on lots of trips.
- Tony Waltham and Andy Eavis, who provided me with so many expedition opportunities and tolerated my incompetence.
- Paul Seddon, whose irrepressible good humour has made me laugh more than anyone else.
- Colin Boothroyd because I worry that without me to provide a note of caution, he’s going to hurt himself (again)
Eight things you never want/wanted to hear underground …
- “Er, I think I’ve got the shits” (especially in a crabwalk.)
- “Sorry, I forgot the rope protectors” (heard in the days before
bolts became
common.)
- “It doesn’t matter that it’s loose, the angle of load means it
won’t pull out” (in the early days of bolting, at the head of the bottom
pitch in the PSM.)
- The sound of a flood pulse coming towards me.
- “Didn’t you bring the lighter?” (on an underground camp ready to make a brew, when you thought the other person had it.)
- “The rope’s a bit short but I think I can get off it, OK”.
Followed by “Bugger, it’s sprung back and I can’t reach it.”
(C.Boothroyd, G.Sewu, Java. From the bottom of a 50m pitch, an hour into
a system.)
- “It doesn’t go”.
- “You know that passage that you said didn’t go, well it does”
Seven public figures you'd least like to go caving with ...
- Bear Grylls. A money-grubbing, unscrupulous charlatan. I sued him once, but he settled before going to Court.
- Perm any 6 characters from any post 2010 Cabinet.
Six of the weirdest things you've done, seen or heard of in connection with caving ...
I can’t think of anything weird, but these were all pretty stupid:
- Volunteering to the back-up diver to Steve Jones in a cave on
the Red River catchment in China. Fortunately, the viz was so appalling
and the passage so tight that he gave up.
- Hiding my stash of grass in a molehill behind a caving hut in
Yorkshire, in anticipation of a drug squad raid (which happened). In the
morning I found the field full of molehills…
- Finding the route through Buxton’s Horror (Swildon’s Sump 5) in
flood by having someone hold my feet while I felt around for the next
airbell.
- Rigging the Y-Frontier in Armistice Series, Clearwater with
Colin. 50m deep and 12m across, rimmed by loose boulders and rubble. It
took 5 hours to set up the rope. It’s got to go but we couldn’t find the
way on.
- Following Paul Seddon through a duck that he had created by
kicking at the rotting carcass of a pig in the streamway of a cave in
Irian. The cave is still going, we ran out of gear…
- Doing a trip down Monte Cucco with an Italian who spoke no
English (I spoke no Italian) on brand new rope using a borrowed Italian
SRT rig that only had one cows-tail.
Five of your favourite caves ...
- The Clearwater Cave System, Mulu, Sarawak. 220km plus of
staggeringly wonderful cave, almost certainly the world’s biggest cave
by volume and still going.
- Swildon’s Hole, Priddy. It’s got everything other than a decent pitch and it’s close to the Hunter’s.
- Cueva del Agua, Tresviso, Picos de Europa Eastern Massif. Like Swildon’s but bigger and with a longer walk to the bar.
- Cobweb Cave, Mulu, Sarawak. A phreatic complex that’s quite
different to Clearwater. It requires a stay at Camp 5 in the Melinau
Gorge, one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
- Ceblok, G.Sewu, Central Java. This is a two-pitch descent down a
hole in the middle of a village. It has no great redeeming features
other than what it represents. At the bottom is small stream and
following our visit and survey in 1983, engineers drove a well from the
surface to provide bucket access to the stream. This saved the villagers
a 2 hour walk to get water in the dry season. One of the very, very
best things I have ever done.
Four pieces of gear you've fallen in love with ...
- Sealskin socks.
- Petzl Stop – so much easier than a rack.
- My large Karrimor rucksack. Part of a sponsorship deal in 1980
(or was it ’84?), on which they embroidered my name. It’s been with me
on every expedition ever since and is still fully serviceable, although
Karrimor have twice had it back for free repairs. What should I do with
it, now that I’ve stopped?
- Petzl Expedition carbide light. Not as convenient or bright as
an LED but a good carbide provides all round light and warmth if you are
stuck in a cold spot.
Three of the best caving books you've read ...
- Aquanaut by Rick Stanton
- Beneath the Cloud Forests by Howard Beck (about Papua New Guinea)
- The Darkness Beckons by Martyn Farr.
Two of your favourite caving regions ...
- Mulu, big caves hidden in rainforest, wonderful.
- Gunung Sewu, small, interesting caves located among villages of dirt-poor local people whose hospitality was humbling.
One thing you'd tell yourself as a fresher ...
Do some work.
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100 MEMORIES - MANOR FARM SWALLET
Mike Norton in the entrance shaft. Ten out
of ten for good ladder climbing technique but minus five for lack of a
lifeline and minus another five for the lack of a helmet. Remember, do
as we say, not as we did!
After his mention of Manor
Farm in last month's Read to the End reply, Mike Norton had his
arm delicately twisted into putting pen to paper about the part he and
other UBSS members played in its discovery.
Has anyone been to Manor Farm Swallet recently? Or have you been put off
by the cesspit which drains into the cave below and used to make any
scratches underground rather slow to heal?? It has an interesting
history and is unusual in that several clubs contributed to opening it
up. Of course UBSS was the most important but we didn’t finish the job
and left it to others to discover much of the cave! That was because I
decamped to Canada at a critical time in 1968 after going at it for
years! Here is my experience of the saga and the ups and downs of this
long dig!
You can see the history in my proceedings paper of 1969 and also some
old cinefootage that Trat took showing the all-important installation of
the concrete pipes in 1961. Up to then all the progress made during the
summer was reversed as the winter rains filled the shaft back up again.
However with the stability of the pipes, we made year on year progress
and digging became more comfortable after we had built a diversion
channel for the stream and an air compressor for ventilation. So in
Union Week 1966, we had the excitement of finding rocks dropping below
us and a hole opened.
Mike and Sue Norton outside Manor Farm.
That’s a really exciting moment when you
realise that you have broken through to something. We rushed into a
wide low passage that just led to another blockage but with a stream
running and a couple of narrow rifts, so it looked promising. We
returned the next day to start the next dig but soon noticed there
seemed to be a lot of rocks running down the slope (one whizzed just
past my ear) and we only just got out in time before the foundations of
the concrete pipes collapsed completely and sealed our short-lived
entrance!
Of course if you have been in the UBSS for long enough you’ll know we
don‘t give up easily and I, Dave Savage and (as I remember it, Keith
Hanna) decided to identify any promising location for a vertical shaft
to intercept our short glimpse into the underworld. We guessed the
direction of the passage, adjusted that to allow the farmer access to
his cesspit and started digging the topsoil the next day. We soon hit
rock and that was when the fun started!
Our first attempt at blasting used some plaster explosive which Dave
Drew happened to have but our first shot rained debris all over the barn
and cracked a window or two. Even though Farmer Jefferies was a very
understanding and sympathetic observer with dreams of a show cave
similar to Cheddar, we thought that was a bit much, so decided to go to
the more sophisticated approach of placing corrugated iron over the hole
when we blew.
We got some lovely photographs of corrugated iron flying in various
directions which unfortunately I cannot find, but it also turned out
pretty tedious to make shotholes with a lump hammer and drill so we
asked for some donations from members (this was before the days of the
Tratman and Lloyd memorial funds) to allow us to hire a Kango rotary
hammer rock drill starting in December 1966. That led to an often weekly
routine in our Triumph Herald of a) pick up the drill b) go to Oliver’s
to pick up tbe Bang (unless there was enough left over from the
previous weekend’s expedition safely stored under our bed), drive up to
Manor Farm (with the bang in the boot and the detonators in the front
for Health and Safety), drill 6-8 shot-holes, load with gelignite,
connect with cordtex and detonators, retire to above and BANG. Then the
wait until the fumes had cleared enough to return - sometimes later the
same day, sometimes the next week - when the rocks could be loaded into
buckets and winched up before restarting the drilling.
The hammer drill did allow you to get rid of a few inches of rock each
time-if lucky, but you had to be careful! On one occasion I remember a
very soft part of rock which turned out to be an intact stick of
gelignite left over from the previous bang. On another occasion I went
back too soon with fumes still there and got very sleepy and was quite
happy to use the bucket as a pillow as I tried to lie down. Fortunately
the surface party which included my wife Sue insisted I get back up to
the surface! Also it is possible that those two years of hammering may
be why I have had to have surgery on both wrists to keep them going! And
Dave Savage split a finger in half under an unfriendly rock and had to
be rushed in our own ambulance to Bristol Royal Infirmary. So some of us
have lifetime scars from our experience!!
Newspaper cutting from the original discovery.
Anyway, as we went down deeper and deeper
we had clearly overshot the cave and we were starting to widen a small
side rift when the 1968 floods opened up a huge sinkhole nearby. On the
one hand it showed that we had been digging in the wrong place but on
the other hand we still had an intact shaft incapable of being washed
away! Just as in the original breakthrough, the new entrance led to
another blockage but there was a rift coming from the direction of our
shaft so we started widening that, encouraged by the discovery of
detonator wire. Unfortunately at that tantalising time, and with the
farmer filling in the new hole with abandoned cars, I had to leave for
Canada to take up a postdoc. With my main collaborator Martin Joyce also
leaving, momentum was lost and it was left to other clubs to finish off
the connection with the rock shaft and dig through to the main cave. In
total we had got through almost half a kilometre of Cordtex fuse, and
goodness knows how much of Oliver Lloyd’s gelignite!
With thanks to all those who helped, I would like to show some
interesting photographs but all I can find are one of me relaxing at the
top waiting for the fumes to clear, Sue proudly displaying her dapper
husband-to-be, me looking at the current entrance and a press clipping.
Try going down sometime and judge whether it was all worth it!
Mike Norton
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BRITISH CAVING ASSOCIATION BALLOT RESULTS
The results are in! Thank you to
all UBSS members who took the time to vote in the election. As the BCA's
Returning Officer said in the announcement, you have all helped shape
the future of British caving.
The following is taken from the summary sent out by the Returning Officer. A full breakdown of the results can be found on the BCA website. There is also a link to a full breakdown of the votes.
Chair: the winning candidate is Russell Myers
Secretary: the winning candidate is Allan Richardson
Training Officer the winning candidate is Steve Gray
Individual Member representatives: the winning candidates are Nigel Atkins and Josh White
Proposals:
I. Remove
requirement for regional anchor installer trainers/assessors to be
subject to approval from the Equipment & Techniques Committee Passes
2. Changes to Section 10.1 of the Constitution:
A) Be entirely removed
B) Have the first line removed
C) Be entirely re-written All Options Fail
3.
Replacement of Standing Committees with Working Groups,
merging of responsibilities of Training and Equipment & Techniques,
and removal of Publications & Information Officer Passes
4. Adjustments to the Constitution to facilitate Online AGMs and the following Online ballots Passes
5. Replacement of gendered role titles with gender-neutral alternatives throughout the Constitution Passes
6. Updates to the Equality & Diversity Policy Passes.
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LETTER TO THE EDITORS
A remark from our Hon Prezz in the
last issue have sparked several comments about the enduring nature of
UBSS relationships, as Eve Gilmore says below. For those that didn't
know him, OCL was Oliver Cromwell Lloyd, a former UBSS Hon Moneybags and
secretary of the Cave Diving Group.
Dear Editors,
Oh I forgot!
The other reason I wasn’t the first to read the newsletter this time was
that Chris and I have been celebrating our Golden Wedding anniversary!
We were both UBSS members and met down GB cave where Chris remarked on the size of my hips as I struggled out of the entrance.
He scorned my caving ability as he was a cave diver as well as a “hard
caver”. He discovered Little Neath River Cave by diving through the
sump. He also extended Wookey (with me and OCL often being supports).
Chris can’t sing in tune but tolerated OCL and I singing various
ditties. I also spent happy times with Trat doing “digs” and gentle
caving ! OCL came to our wedding and was very supportive in an ”Oliver
sort of way”. We kept in touch with Trat for many years until his
death.
Chris and I have UBSS to thank for a long and successful marriage.
Eve Gilmore
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CAVING DOG READ TO THE END, DID YOU?
With apologies from your lazy editors to whoever made the original image!
Many congratulations to new member Ewan
Aitchison-Hough who galloped through the last newsletter at speed to
meet caving mascot Damien and win a UBSS Buff as his prize! He was a
worthy winner and claimed his prize at a pub meet. Welcome to the club,
Ewan!
The (non) prize for the first out of office reply on this occasion went
to Adelle Bricking and the non-student winner was Jacob Podesta! (Jacob,
if you're down at Bonfire weekend, claim a keyring torch off Henry.)
And last, but certainly not least was UBSS Vice-Prezz Cat Henry, who
also came last with the previous issue! Cat gets the coveted 'Must Try Harder' badge.
As ever, we'll find a prize of some sort for the next worthy winner!
- Made it! I'm excited to start caving with everyone (Ewan Aitchison-Hough]
- I don't really get the thing with the orang-utan, maybe I need
to re-read some back issues... [Jacob Podesta] [Editors' Note:
nope, Damien made his first appearance in the newsletter last month,]
- This is Mike Norton ('60s Hon Sec and Manor Farm and GB Ladder
Dig notoriety). Just a congrats on the recent activities that indicate
UBSS is very much alive and well, and on the excellence of the
newsletter. A big contrast with the amateurishly-typed Roneo skins that
we produced in the 60's!! Great to see you still so active and best
wishes to all of you. [Mike Norton]
- Harry Potter caving edition? That ought to be more widely available. [Chris Howes]
- Good fun on Friday morning! [Hans Friederich]
- Another way to procrastinate. Hope all is well [Stu Walker]
- Hi Damien, I did it, I read to the end! [Galina Self]
- So agree with Elaine Oliver that the friends you make will last
longer - as our 50 year UBSS reunion in Co Clare in 2018 showed - with
the people we went caving at Bristol with in the 1960s. Gosh yes,
Friends For Life - I'm 74 and I still have UBSS friends in close touch
from when I was 18! [Steve Trudgill]
- I did, late. I cannot believe that Elaine would really have
liked to go caving with Lloyd, much better to go mushroom collecting and
drink wine. [Dick Willis] [Editors' note; in her defence, she
actually said she'd like to go for a drink with him.]
- I did read to the
end, though it took some time as I seem to be spending a lot of time in
queues for basic necessities. This is what happens when the bloody
tories get in. And who are all these Wheelers in the newsletter these
days? There was only ever one in my day. [Ian Wheeler]
- Took my time ….(been to Shetland!) Thank you for my prize last time! [Eve Gilmore]
- And much quicker than last time too!!! what's by being last
prize for last tie? is that really a thing? [Cat Henry] [Yep, it's
a thing! We'll buy you a drink next time we see you!]
So, as you can see, there's everything to play for! Let us know when you read to the end and you might win a prize!.
THE END
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